Have you ever locked yourself out of your car … or your house? I sure have!

I think about all the time I wasted sitting outside my house waiting for my husband to come home to unlock the door or, even worse, sitting on the curb or in a fast food joint a block away from my car waiting for him to come and get me where I was stranded – yuck!!

After doing that more times than I care to remember I decided I never wanted that to happen to me ever again. I decided to take control.

I knew I needed a foolproof plan, one that happened automatically and always “had my back”!

Last week we talked about the habit loop because, well…HABITS RULE!! Habits are the building blocks of a successful life!!

Kari’s “never get locked out again” plan – the launching pad

One of the best habits I ever created in my entire life was the “launching pad” I set up.

A launching pad is a physical location in your house, usually near the front door or maybe on a kitchen counter, that you set aside to put the things you are going to take with you when you leave the house. Just that simple, but wow, the savings of time it generates!

In my launching pad I keep my purse, my keys (in the front pocket of my purse), my jacket, and any papers or books that I need to take with me when I leave the house the next day.

I never have to rush around at the last minute to find my purse, to search for my keys or locate the vital things I need to take with me.

And I’ve set up a second, supportive habit. I take a couple of minutes every night to put everything I need in the launching pad before going to bed.

This one habit has saved me mountains of time, tons of grief and gobs of worry.

Creatively using the “launching pad” concept

OK, so you don’t need to “launch” yourself out the door - how can you creatively use the idea behind the launching pad in other ways?

The whole idea is to set up a place, a physical location, that is a dedicated station for a certain activity. For example, you can set up a station for paying bills.

Before setting up a bill-paying launching pad, one of my clients used to misplace her bills all the time! She’d already lost hours of her life looking for her bills in among the piles of papers on her desk.

So she designed this simple strategy …

She got an attractive box and set it on her kitchen counter, since that’s where she opens the daily mail.

Now, she opens the mail and sorts it at the same time. The bills go into the pretty box - her bill-paying launching pad. The unwanted items from the mail go straight into the trash.

She doesn’t get much personal mail, such as letters or invitations, but when she does, she puts them in the bill paying launching pad on top so she can deal with them when she pays her bills.

She set up another habit that really supports her …

She pays her bills every week, on Saturday morning. Since she does it every week, it doesn’t take long. And the reason she does it on Saturday morning is because she can take the pretty box with the bills to her desk, along with a cup of her special coffee.

She looks forward to bill paying time!

This is a clever use of pairing up a less desirable activity with pleasurable activities to capitalize on the brain’s release of dopamine – the pleasure chemical!

Ask yourself this question…

“What is one creative way I can use the “launching pad” concept to set up a new habit that will save me time and make my life easier in important ways?”

What one habit can you put in place today that will save you time that would be better spent to:

Pet a cat,

Chat with friends,

Hug a loved one,

Pursue your dreams!

Good habits give us the time we need to be inventive and spontaneous. They free up creative energy that would not have been available to us otherwise. Good habits have our back in every way!

Use the comments field below to share with me what new habit you intend to “hire” today!

If you have passionate dreams and brilliant ideas, but you’re frustrated by procrastination, lack of focus and difficulty following through, it’s time to get in the driver’s seat once and for all! I help women take charge of their “out of control” lives … women who feel scattered, overwhelmed, and out of their depths trying to keep their heads above water in their careers and personal lives.

Imagine finally feeling focused, confident and in control of your time and your tasks. What would it be like to release the frustration and shame and finally be able to skillfully manage your home, your career and your life! If you've tried all the "traditional" approaches to time and task management, but the pieces haven't come together for you yet, contact me - I can help!